Is It Possible to Learn English in 30 Days?
Learning a language takes a lot of time and energy. There are thousands of new words, hundreds of grammar rules, and you have to learn multiple skills – speaking, reading, writing, listening, pronunciation, and more.
It would be wonderfully convenient if we could just study a language for a week or a month and master it, but of course, this isn’t possible.
But let’s say you want to learn English in 30 days. How much can you actually learn? Is it possible to become proficient, or even fluent?
In short, proficient – yes; fluent – no. Unless you are a very rare type of human being, 30 days is simply not enough time to master a language. There is too much to learn, and too many nuances.
You can learn English in 30 days, and you may even be able to become fairly proficient, but you won’t be able to achieve fluency. So how long does it take to learn English then? Here are several factors that affect the amount of time it takes to learn English.
Can You Learn English in 30 Days?
Children
For children who are immersed in a language – particularly those under 11 years old – it’s common for them to become fluent in around six months.
Children’s brains are still developing and they are able to easily absorb a new language. Children are particularly good at picking up listening and speaking. Adults, on the other hand, tend to be better at reading and writing at the beginning.
Level of Education
According to Dot Powell, the director of British Council’s ESOL Nexus, the amount of English an immigrant to the UK can learn is dependent on their level of education.
If they are illiterate in their native language, it will be much more difficult. It will also be harder for them to learn if they’ve spent little to no time in a classroom. However, if English learners already speak two to three languages, it will be easier for them to learn another.
Exposure to English
Experts agree that to achieve a high level of English, it’s vital that you hear English often. If you only speak to people from your native country, or you simply study by yourself at home, you won’t improve very much.
Number of Hours
Experts have different opinions on the amount of time it takes to learn a language and there are numerous factors that impact your learning.
In order to become a citizen in Scotland, you need to reach what they call B1 Level or Intermediate 1. At this level, speakers should be able to hold a confident conversation in English. In the UK it’s thought that achieving this level takes around 360 hours.
If you wanted to achieve this in one month, this would mean you’d probably have to study at home and immerse yourself in English for 12 hours a day. This is probably not possible. But over two months? That’s 6 hours a day – much more achievable.
Resources to Learn English Quickly
To learn vocabulary and grammar, it’s a good idea to pick up a book or two. If you have access to the internet, there is a huge wealth of resources, including online English courses, thousands of websites, free PDFs and handouts, YouTube videos, and much, much more.
Ideally, you should listen to native English speakers as often as possible and study on your own too.
You can learn English in 30 days, but don’t expect to be fluent. Expect it to take at least two to three months to become proficient – but again, there are many factors that impact how fast and how much you can learn. Good luck!
